Shoe cleaner and polisher

ABSTRACT

A shoe cleaner and polisher comprising a pair of motor driven rotary brushes offset from each other and of such heights as to permit the placing of one&#39;&#39;s shod shoe beneath one brush to brush and polish the top of the shoe and on the top of the other brush to permit cleaning of the bottoms and sides of the soles of the shoe, the brushes having a common power source and being drivingly connected for rotation in opposite directions.

United States Patent Leonard 51 May 2, 1972 [54] SHOE CLEANER ANDPOLISHER [72] Inventor: Lloyd H. Leonard, 14877 Valley Vista Blvd,Sherman Oaks, Calif. 91403 [22] Filed: Aug. 12,1970

[21] App1.No.: 63,082

[52] U.S.CI. ..l5/36, 15/21 D.

51 Int.Cl. ..A47l23/02 [58] FieldofSearch ..15/4,21D,3(),31,32,34,15/36, 97 A, 38, 77, 88, 56, 74, 75, 39, 70, 311

[ 56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,069,710 12/1962Dremeletal. ..15/36 3,226,750 1/1966 Leonard ..15/36 FOREIGN PATENTS 0RAPPLICATIONS 14,268 8/1852 Great Britain 15/34 Primary Examiner-EdwardL. Roberts AttorneyAl1an D. Mockabee [57] ABSTRACT A shoe cleaner andpolisher comprising a pair of motor driven rotary brushes offset fromeach other and of such heights as to permit the placing of ones shodshoe beneath one brush to brush and polish the top of the shoe and onthe top of the other brush to permit cleaning of the bottoms and sidesof the soles of the shoe, the brushes having a common power source andbeing drivingly connected for rotation in opposite directions.

4 Claims, 2 Drawing Figures PRIOR ART My prior U.S. Pat. No. 3,226,750,granted Jan. 4, 1966 on Power Operated Golf Shoe Cleaner discloses asingle brush power operated shoe cleaner.

The present invention as distinguished from those prior art devicesidentified above has as a primary object the provision of a shoe cleanerand polisher particularly adapted for cleated or spiked shoes, such asgolf shoes, wherein one rotary brush is provided to polish the tops oruppers of the shoes and another rotary brush is provided for cleaningthe soles around the spikes as well as the side edges of the soles andthe lower side portions of the uppers.

Another object is to provide a pair of rotary brushes in a device ofthis type wherein one brush is on a powered shaft and the other on adriven shaft connected by suitable gearing to the powered shaft in sucha way that the brushes will rotate in opposite directions so that whenthe shoe is placed beneath the polishing brush, or upon the cleaningbrush, the rotary wiping movement of the brush in each instance is awayfrom the user. Consequently, dust and dirt or mud and grass cuttingswill not be directed toward but away from the user.

A further object is to provide a relatively simple compact arrangementof the brushes and other supporting and operating mechanism.

The above and other objects will more fully appear from the followingdescription in connection with the accompanying drawing:

FIG. 1 is a plan view of an embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 2 is a longitudinal vertical sectional view.

The device has a horizontal U-shaped tubular frame 4 supported bysuitable feet 6 A tubular cross member 8 extends across the open end ofthe U and is secured to frame 4 by straps 10 whichlie about the crossmember 8 and whose ends extend into the tubular frame 4 and are anchoredby bolts 12 extending through said tubular frame.

The frame 4 supports an upright bracket 14 having an opening 16 toreceive the front support 18 of a motor 20. The motor has a rear support22 suitably carried by a rear bracket plate 24 whose lower end isconnected to the frame 4 by bolts 26. The upper end of the bracket plate14 is connected by a bolt 28 to the underside of the top 30 of ahousing, indicated generally at 32. The upper end of the bracket plate24 is connected by a bolt 34 to the underside of the housing top 30.

The motor 20 has a shaft 36 extending therefrom to the right as viewedin FIG. 2, said shaft projecting through an opening 38 in the right wall40 of housing 32. The opening 38 is considerably larger than shaft 36 toaccommodate a hub 42 of a suitable rotary brush 44 which may be securedto the shaft in any suitable manner as by a bolt 46. The left or innerend of the hub 42 is provided with notches 48 and 50 which fit aboutlugs 52 and 54 extending radially from opposite sides of a nylon gearunit 56 mounted on and secured to the shaft 36 by a set screw 58threaded through the lug 52 and the body of the gear 56.

The gear 56 meshes with a larger gear 60 on the right end of acountershaft 62 which lies within the housing and is supported by abushing 64 in an opening 66 in the right bracket plate 14. Thecountershaft 62 is also supported by a bushing 68 mounted in an opening70 in the left bracket plate 24. The countershaft 62 extends to the leftexteriorly of the left wall 72 of the housing 32 and mounted thereon isa rotary brush 74 having a sleeve 76 and flanges 78 and 80. The flange80 is provided with a hub 86. A screw 88 threaded into the left end ofthe countershaft 62 retains the hub 86 and the remainder of the rotarybrush 74 on the shaft 68 in conjunction with the pin 84.

Extending upwardly through the top 30 of the housing 32 is a tubularwand 90 which houses a push rod 92 normally urged upwardly by a spring94 located between an anchoring cup 96 and a cap 98 on the upper end ofthe rod 92. Said push rod 92 is adapted to engage a switch button 100which will energize the motor 20 as ong as the cap 98 is held down. Thisof course will rotate the motor shaft 36 and cause said shaft to rotatein a counterclockwise direction when viewed from the right of thedrawing. This will similarly rotate the brush 44 which is spacedsufficiently above the ground or floor surface to permit .the shod footof the user to be placed beneath the brush 44.

This is for the purpose of cleaning and polishing the upper portion ofthe shoe with a rotary wiping motion which is away from the user.

By reason of the gears 56 and 60, the countershaft 62 will be rotatedclockwise or in a direction opposite to that of the motor shaft 36. Thebrush 74 on said countershaft will rotate therewith and it is locatedclose to the ground or floor surface so that the shod foot of theuser'can conveniently be placed on the upper part of that brush for thepurpose of cleaning the shoe soles and around the spikes of golf shoesfor example, and also the edges of the soles and lower portions of thesides of the shoe uppers. Again the wiping motion is away from the userso that he will not be splattered with dirt and debris being removed bythe brush 74. It is preferred that a suitable receptacle, such aspartially indicated at 102 in FIG. 1, can be used to catch dirt andgrass cuttings removed from the bottoms of the shoes.

The brush 44 if desired may be in the form of a multilayered fabricbuffer, while that of FIG. 2 preferably is formed of bristles, since thebrush 74 is primarily designed for cleaning, and brush 44 for brushingorpolishing.

It should of course be understood that various changes can be made inthe form, details, arrangement and proportions of the various partswithout deparing from the spirit of the invention.

I claim: I v

1. A shoe cleaner and polisher comprising a base, an electric motor anda pair of motor driven brush means, wherein the improvement comprises:said motor having a horizontal rotary shaft with one of said brush meanson said shaft for rotation therewith, a countershaft supported by saidbase for rotation about a horizontal axis, the other of said brush meansbeing on said countershaft, a drive connection from said motor shaft tosaid countershaft, said drive connection being arranged to drive saidcountershaft in a direction the reverse of that of said motor shaft, andsaid brushes being axially offset.

2. The structure in claim 1, and one of said brushes having its lowerportion spaced sufficiently above the bottom of said base to permit theinsertion of a persons shod foot beneath and in contact with theunderside of the brush, and the other of said brushes having sufficientspace above its upper portion to permit the placing of a persons shodfoot thereon, the reverse direction of said shafts causing the brushesto wipe selectively against'the upper and under sides of shoes in thesame rotational direction.

3. The structure in claim 1, and a housing enclosing said motor, saidhorizontal rotary motor shaft having a portion extending through oneside of said housing, said brush on said shaft lying exteriorly of saidhousing, said countershaft having an end located in said housing andextending through an opposite side of the housing from said rotary motorshaft with its brush located exteriorly of said opposite side of saidhousing, the ends of said shafts in said housing overlapping, and saiddrive connection comprising a drive gear on said motor shaft and ameshed driven gear on said countershaft.

4. The structure in claim 3, and said gears producing a reversal ofrotation of the countershaft from that of said motor shaft.

1. A shoe cleaner and polisher comprising a base, an electric motor anda pair of motor driven brush means, wherein the improvement comprises:said motor having a horizontal rotary shaft with one of said brush meanson said shaft for rotation therewith, a countershaft supported by saidbase for rotation about a horizontal axis, the other of said brush meansbeing on said countershaft, a drive connection from said motor shaft tosaid countershaft, said drive connection being arranged to drive saidcountershaft in a direction the reverse of that of said motor shaft, andsaid brushes being axially offset.
 2. The structure in claim 1, and oneof said brushes having its lower portion spaced sufficiently above thebottom of said base to permit the insertion of a person''s shod footbeneath and in contact with the underside of the brush, and the other ofsaid brushes having sufficient space above its upper portion to permitthe placing of a person''s shod foot thereon, the reverse direction ofsaid shafts causing the brushes to wipe selectively against the upperand under sides of shoes in the same rotational direction.
 3. Thestructure in claim 1, and a housing enclosing said motor, saidhorizontal rotary motor shaft having a portion extending through oneside of said housing, said Brush on said shaft lying exteriorly of saidhousing, said countershaft having an end located in said housing andextending through an opposite side of the housing from said rotary motorshaft with its brush located exteriorly of said opposite side of saidhousing, the ends of said shafts in said housing overlapping, and saiddrive connection comprising a drive gear on said motor shaft and ameshed driven gear on said countershaft.
 4. The structure in claim 3,and said gears producing a reversal of rotation of the countershaft fromthat of said motor shaft.